South African police fired stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas at rock-throwing students during running battles at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand – known as Wits.
Illuminated by the flash of an exploding stun grenade, a student jumps on a falling policeman while another policeman fires a rubber bullet during a running battle at WitsMarco Longari/AFP
The square in front of the main hall on campus was strewn with spent shotgun shells and rocks after several skirmishes between police and protesters on Tuesday 4 October.
A police woman in riot gear hobbling from the scene with assistance from her colleagues told Reuters she was hit in the leg with a stone thrown by protesters.
Students gather during a mass protest at the University of the WitwatersrandMarco Longari/AFPA student at the University of Witwatersrand offers flowers to South African anti-riot policemenMarco Longari/AFPPrivate security agents take position at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg during a student protest over tuition feesMarco Longari/AFPStudents arm themselves with batons during a mass protest at WitsMarco Longari/AFPStudents chant slogans as they carry rocks during clashes with the South African police at Johannesburg's University of the WitwatersrandSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersA student holds bricks during clashes with the South African police at WitsSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersPolice officers fire rubber bullets towards crowds of protesting students at WitsSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersA student throws a rock at a South African police car during clashes over tuition feesSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersA smoke bomb billows at the University of Witwatersrand as students disperse during a running battle with the police forces on campusMarco Longari/AFPA student runs from an exploding stun grenade thrown by anti-riot police as they disperse a demonstration at WitsMarco Longari/AFPStudents of the University of Witwatersrand flee the area after teargas canisters were used by policeMarco Longari/AFPStudent leader Mcebo Dlamini dances with a shield and a helmet belonging to university private security guardsMarco Longari/AFPStudent leader Mcebo Dlamini is detained during clashes with South African police at WitsSiphiwe Sibeko/ReutersSouth African police protect their injured colleague during clashes with students at Johannesburg's University of the WitwatersrandSiphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Demonstrations over the cost of university education, which is prohibitive for many students, have highlighted frustration at enduring inequalities in Africa's most industrialised country more than two decades after the end of apartheid.
Protests first erupted in 2015, then subsided as the government froze fee increases and set up a commission to look into the education funding system. The unrest boiled over again, closing some classes and universities, when the commission said that fees would continue to rise, albeit with an eight percent cap in 2017. The university, which shut down during the earlier protests, had reopened on Monday (3 October), but some students had forced some of the lecturers out of their offices.
A masked student clears lecture halls on campus during a mass demonstration at the University of the WitwatersrandMarco Longari/AFP
Adam Habib, the university's vice-chancellor, had said police and private security guards would be on campus to help "take back our campus" on behalf of staff and students who wanted to return to class.
